To reply to the question about why few responses – I can say that from where I am right now, we are pretty focussed on next steps for our own DD. I adore you all, but my family has to come first, and this is a really busy time for many folks right after M10.
Lots of applicants are now in scramble mode – Between figuring out waitlist plans, writing WL letters, evaluating offers without revisits, and talking to FA offices. Or folks are scrambling to find rolling admissions options (I know from own experience from a few days ago - YES there are great schools accepting applications! So it’s only over if you want it to be!).
So in short:
People with no offers are busy.
People with WL offers are busy.
People with admission offers are busy.
It’s a really crazy week in BS world for most of us. And a really crazy week in regular world for all of us. Don’t take it personally.
These are good points. It’s possible that the pool from outside the community is a lot more favorable this year. I wondered if this year’s 8th grade class was much worse than previous years but the guidance counselor said it isn’t. He has no real explanation.
The crazy aspect of it all is the sheer randomness of who got admitted. We would have expected the most selective schools to admit the top 5% of the class, then the next most selective the next 10%, etc. But admission didn’t seem to have anything to do with academic or athletic performance. My son said the boy that got admitted to Exeter didn’t even want to apply, he had poor grades and test scores, and didn’t want to go to a school with a high workload. His parents pressured him and he put minimal effort into the application, now he feels he has to go because he knows how valuable and rare the opportunity is.
Students were completely shocked that the worst student in the class was admitted to the same school as my son was, and that most of the better students were waitlisted. We are now facing an ugly Hobson’s choice – this school is excellent in the humanities, but is weak in math and science (where my son’s interests lie). He almost didn’t apply because of this, but I’m glad he did because otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten in anywhere.
So…I posted yesterday on page 128, but since I feel that my question is urgent I’m posting it again, hopefully it doesn’t get buried again. (Echoing what @sub2pewdiepie said earlier, it’d be great if someone could help answer the questions us newcomers ask.)
This is a question about WL emails. I read post #2545 commented by @PhotographerMom about how WL emails should be sweet and short, and I have a few other questions.
I’m an eighth grader and I applied to seven boarding schools - Exeter, Andover, Groton, Choate, and Hotchkiss included. I got waitlisted at all of them and I’m desperate to improve my chances of getting off the waitlist since they’re my top choices and I would love, love, love attending any one of them so much. I’m planning on sending emails to the AOs and my interviewers from each of the schools, but I’m stuck on figuring out what to write and how long the emails should be.
How long is too long? Should I simply state that I’d love to attend their school and express that I hope to be off the waitlist soon? Or can I also add why I want to go there and say what I could contribute to the school community?
I’ve been really stressed and freaked out ever since I got my decisions…I really wasn’t expecting one waitlist after another. I would really appreciate it if any of you could help, thank you so much!
Im also an eighth grader who applied to many of the schools you did and got waitlisted for all.
I totally relate to all your stress and was crushed when I got the decisions back.
As of now, I am just drafting emails to my AO about how I am thankful for the opportunity and hope to be considered. Mention why you want to attend the school, and say you would go if given the offer(if so).
Other than that I feel like we just have to wait it out. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
It is perfectly OK to let a school know that you wish to remain on the WL and that you will matriculate if accepted. If the school is your first choice, it is OK to note that as well.
However, there is nothing you can do at this point to improve your chances as you weren’t waitlisted because you left something unsaid (other than that you could be full-pay if you applied for FA and even that only moves your app to the FP WL where there may be more chance of movement).
Schools use WLs to fill holes made by acceptances that decline so, if you happen to be a good proxy for a missing profile, you may have a chance, but you’ll never know what those holes are and nothing you write will change your shape. If you’re a female boarding applicant, and the school needs a male day student, nothing you say will change your chromosomes. If you run track, but they need a baseball player, nothing you say changes that profile either. That’s how this works.
All schools assume that if you applied, you want to go there, and that desire must have come through enough for the school to consider you admissible and worthy of their WL. I know these decisions are hard to accept. Go ahead and let each school know in a few sentences that you wish to remain on the WL and that you are enthusiastic about attending, then move on. If you do get that call, great, but your focus needs to be on your backup plan.
Hugs and good luck to all of you dealing with WL decisions. You’ll be fine wherever you land next year.
@skyhigh1203 - For the WL email you have a choice:
The classic short and sweet response : I would like to accept the invitation to be on your WL.
Sincerely,
You
OR
One paragraph ( awesome ) or two paragraphs ( TOPS! ) which should cover accepting a place on the WL ( see above ), plus one or two key things that you really loved about the school and how you would definitely attend if you’re offered admission . If the school you’re sending this to is your first choice, say it and end it.
At this time you can also update your file with each school if something special happened in your life ( like some amazing academic or athletic award ), after the app was submitted, but please refrain from multiple follow up updates after your WL email is sent unless it’s something truly significant.
I also read that we should definitely contact the coaches and tell them about our resume & that we would like to join the team there… the only thing is, my main thing is art, not sports (I do equestrian, but I’m not very passionate about it and I doubt there’s an equestrian team there??). Should I still reach out to the art teachers at Exeter & Choate and send them my art portfolio that I previously submitted to the admissions committee in my application? Would that help in any way?
The following communication from our school’s college guidance office refers to the current college admissions but is easily applicable to this year’s BS admissions too:
“• How is the coronavirus impacting the admissions process? Suffice it to say that our colleagues on the college side are facing many complicating factors as they finalize decisions and attempt to hit their ideal enrollment numbers. For one, not having on-campus admitted student programs will make it difficult to predict their yield relative to past years. There are also understandable concerns about how many admitted international students will be able to accept offers of admission, between uncertainty over potential future travel bans and the student visa process. There is also the uncertainty about whether their own study abroad programs will be allowed to run next year, which impacts on-campus housing. With so much in the air, it is likely that many schools will keep longer wait lists and may need to keep those lists active much later than usual—likely into the summer. While we have not had the sense that this situation is significantly impacting their immediate admissions decision-making, it is safe to say that the wait list process is a real wild card in 2020. Hopefully that means that there will be more opportunities for students to be admitted off wait lists than in recent years.”
@sub2pewdiepie - Here’ the thing and I probably didn’t linger on it too long or long enough in post #2507 because it’s painful and almost cruel to point out , but you just have to remember where their focus is.
I’ve seen parents on CC suggest that WL kids should contact department heads, teachers or coaches only to see kids who took that advice even more upset than before because they didn’t get a response.
Please don’t contact teachers directly. Teachers don’t make admission decisions, and even less so decisions about who will get off the WL. The Admissions Office does that. It’s best to communicate through your AO. Teachers are either on a much deserved spring break or very busy with the extra work needed for switching to online instruction - or both!
We prepared all the application materials ourselves. After getting a lot of WL, a couple of application advisers contacted me, and they said it could be because I didn’t prepare my application materials correctly and didn’t make me outstanding after AO read these materials, they can still help me take a look at my case and can possibly help me get off WL. Anyone had the similar experience?
@PhotographerMom
I don’t know, I even didn’t ask them, because we got admitted from the safety school and we like this school too, so it is OK for us to accept this admission.
Not Sure if this is your question @mwu9966 but there are consultants who help students applying sharpen their applications-but you still need to write the essays etc. yourself (otherwise it is dishonest) Generally if your family hires a consultant they begin working with you a full year before you apply and you disclose on your application that you are working with someone. Some consultants are very effective and have great reputations at boarding schools, but I would be suspicious of a consultant who makes any promises about getting off of a waitlist this year- you would be better off working with someone to reapply next year. Be sure to ask the consultant where there clients have been accepted and ask to talk to a few clients if possible.
@WorkTooMuch There are other factors at play, too.
They are creating communities and need kids to play multiple roles to keep their arts and athletics programs going as well as key clubs.
That means violinists are more prized than pianists, and actors and singers are more important than sculptors. If you are a champion fencer or water polo star and the school has neither sport, you won’t be as compelling as a kid who excels at two of the sports they value. Some schools are also on the look out for potential donors. If they know that a particular family is especially wealthy or generous, they may be more likely to admit the child.
